Hair iron

ABSTRACT

A hair iron  1  includes a first arm  21  and a second arm  22  to give a treatment by holding hair between the first arm  21  and the second arm  22.  The hair iron  1  includes a first contact part  41  that comes into contact with hair during the treatment, a second contact part  42,  and heaters  71  and  72  that heat the first contact part  41  and the second contact part  42,  respectively. The first contact part  41  is disposed inside an opening  21   a,  which is provided in a portion of the first arm  21,  the portion facing the second arm  22,  while the second contact part  42  is disposed inside an opening  22   a,  which is provided in a portion of the second arm  22,  the portion facing the first arm  21.  The first contact part  41  and the second contact part  42  include a substrate  411  and a substrate  421,  respectively, each of which is made from isotropic high-density graphite.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2016-138217, filed on Jul. 13, 2016, and Japanese Patent Application No.2017-075553, filed on Apr. 5, 2017, of which the entirety of thedisclosures is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a hair iron.

BACKGROUND

A hair iron equipped with an elastic member that is made frommulti-element mineral powder containing far-infrared emitting materialpowder and is disposed on part of a hair holder is already proposed (seeUnexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No.2010-233830, for example). Such a hair iron has effects of facilitatingapplication of a conditioner into hair as well as facilitating bloodcirculation in the scalp. These effects are exerted by warming the hairand/or the scalp from the inside during a treatment with far-infraredrays emitted from the far-infrared emitting material powder contained inthe elastic member. Examples of an employed far-infrared emittingmaterial include ceramic such as alumina or titania.

SUMMARY

The elastic member described in Unexamined Japanese Patent ApplicationKokai Publication No. 2010-233830, however, has a relatively low contentof the far-infrared emitting material powder, since the far-infraredemitting material powder is dispersed into a substrate made of siliconeor the like. Thus, the hair iron may possibly fail to emit far-infraredrays in the amount enough to warm the hair and/or the scalp from theinside to the extent that the effects of facilitating application of aconditioner into the hair and facilitating blood circulation in thescalp are fully exerted.

Alternatively, another possible hair iron may include a hair holder thatis entirely made from a ceramic far-infrared emitting material. In sucha case, however, the hair holder may be heavy and impose a greaterburden on the user of the hair iron.

A hair iron according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is:

a hair iron including an elongated first arm and an elongated secondarm, wherein one end of the second arm along a longitudinal direction ispivotally attached to one end of the first arm along a longitudinaldirection, and another end of the second arm is movable in a directionalong which the other end of the second arm comes closer to, or awayfrom, another end of the first arm, and wherein a treatment is given byholding hair between the first arm and the second arm, the hair ironincluding:

a first contact part that is disposed in a portion of the first arm, andcomes into contact with hair during a treatment, the portion facing thesecond arm;

a second contact part that is disposed in a portion of the second arm,and comes into contact with hair during the treatment, the portionfacing the first arm; and

a heater that heats at least one of the first contact part and thesecond contact part,

wherein at least one of the first contact part and the second contactpart includes a portion made from a material containing graphite.

A hair iron according to a second aspect of the present disclosureincludes:

a contact part that is tubular in shape, and comes into contact withhair during a treatment;

a clipping part that is disposed lateral to the contact part, andpresses hair against the contact part during the treatment; and

a heater that heats the contact part,

wherein the contact part includes a portion made from a materialcontaining graphite.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of this application can be obtained whenthe following detailed description is considered in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a hair iron according to a firstembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the region A1 enclosed in a dottedline in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a side view of a hair iron according to a second embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a partial cross-sectional view of a hair iron according to avariation;

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken perpendicular to a longitudinaldirection of first and second contact parts of a hair iron according toanother variation;

FIG. 4A is a partial cross-sectional view of a hair iron according tothe variation;

FIG. 4B is a side view of the hair iron according to another variation;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the hair iron according to a variation;

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of a region A2 enclosed in a dottedline in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a side view of a hair iron according to a variation; and

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a region A3 enclosed in a dottedline in FIG. 6A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Individual embodiments of the present disclosure will now be describedwith reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

A hair iron according to the present embodiment includes a contact partthat is made from isotropic high-density graphite, and comes intocontact with hair when the hair is held between arms to give atreatment. Hence, the contact part emits far-infrared rays when heated.With the far-infrared rays emitted from the contact part, the hairand/or a scalp is warmed from the inside.

As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the hair iron 1 according to the presentembodiment includes a first arm 21, a second arm 22, a first contactpart 41, and a second contact part 42, to give a treatment by holdinghair between the first and second arms 21 and 22. As illustrated in FIG.1B, the hair iron 1 further includes a heater 71 that heats the firstcontact part 41, a heater 72 that heats the second contact part 42, anda power supply 8 that supplies electric power to the heaters 71 and 72.Note that FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of a region Al enclosed in adotted line in FIG. 1A.

Each of the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 is in the shape of anelongated box. One end (right end in FIG. 1A) of the second arm 22 alonga longitudinal direction is pivotally attached via a hinge 3 to one end(right end in FIG. 1A) of the first arm 21 along the longitudinaldirection. Thus, the second arm 22 is movable in a direction along whichother end (left end in FIG. 1A) of the second arm 22 comes closer to, oraway from, other end (left end in FIG. 1A) of the first arm 21. Asillustrated in FIG. 1B, the first arm 21 includes an opening 21 a formedin a portion facing the second arm 22, and the first contact part 41 isdisposed inside the opening 21 a. Likewise, the second arm 22 includesan opening 22 a formed in a portion facing the first arm 21, and thesecond contact part 42 is disposed inside the opening 22 a. A power cord6 connecting to an external power source is led out from one end (rightend in FIG. 1A) of the first arm 21.

The first contact part 41 and the second contact part 42 are the membersthat come into contact with hair during the treatment. The first contactpart 41 is disposed inside the opening 21 a, which is provided in aportion of the first arm 21, the portion facing the second arm 22. Thesecond contact part 42 is disposed inside the opening 22 a, which isprovided in a portion of the second arm 22, the portion facing the firstarm 21. The first contact part 41 includes a substrate 411, which isformed from isotropic high-density graphite into an elongated plate, anda diamond-like carbon (DLC) film 412, which is a coating applied to aportion of surfaces of the substrate 411, the portion being exposed tothe outside of the first arm 21. The second contact part 42 includes asubstrate 421, which is formed from isotropic high-density graphite intoan elongated plate, and a DLC film 422, which is a coating applied to aportion of surfaces of the substrate 421, the portion being exposed tothe outside of the second arm 22. The substrates 411 and 421 areproduced by, for example, using a method similar to the method forproducing a “carbon formed body” described in Unexamined Japanese PatentApplication Kokai Publication No. 2012-100777. The DLC films 412 and 422are formed by using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or vacuumevaporation method. A thermal insulating member 5 is located between thefirst contact part 41 and an edge of the opening 21 a in the first arm21. A thermal insulating member 5 is also located between the secondcontact part 42 and an edge of the opening 22 a in the second arm 22.These thermal insulating members prevent heat from transferring from thefirst and second contact parts 41 and 42 to the first and second arms 21and 22.

The heaters 71 and 72 each include a ceramic heater. The power supply 8,which is connected to the heaters 71 and 72 via conductive lines 81 and82, passes a direct current to the heater 71 via the conductive line 81,and passes a direct current to the heater 72 via the conductive line 82.The power supply 8 includes a rectifying and smoothing circuit thatconverts an alternating current supplied from an externalalternating-current source via a power supply line 83 into a directcurrent, and also includes a step-down circuit that decreases an outputvoltage coming from the rectifying and smoothing circuit. The heaters 71and 72 and the power supply 8 constitute a heating section that heatsthe first and second contact parts 41 and 42.

In the hair iron 1 according to the present embodiment, the firstcontact part 41 and the second contact part 42 include the substrate 411and the substrate 421, respectively, each of which is made fromisotropic high-density graphite. As a result, each of the first contactpart 41 and the second contact part 42 can emit a larger amount offar-infrared rays compared with, for example, a configuration in whichceramic powder, which is a far-infrared emitting material, is dispersedinto substrates in the first and second contact parts. Therefore, theeffect of warming the hair and/or the scalp from the inside during thetreatment is enhanced.

In addition, ceramic such as alumina or silicon dioxide has a density ofapproximately 2.2 to 4.1 Mg/m³, while isotropic high-density graphitehas a lower density of 1.7 to 2.0 Mg/m³ than ceramic. Accordingly, thefirst contact part 41 and the second contact part 42 are lighter inweight per unit volume compared with, for example, a configuration inwhich the first and second contact parts are made from ceramic, which isa far-infrared emitting material. Thus, the advantage of making the hairiron 1 lighter to reduce the burden imposed on the user of the hair iron1 is present.

In addition, the DLC film 412 on the surface of the first contact part41 is exposed, while the DLC film 422 on the surface of the secondcontact part 42 is also exposed. Thus, a sliding resistance between hairand each of the first and second contact parts 41 and 42 can be reduced,the sliding resistance being caused when the user moves the hair iron 1with the hair held between the first and second contact parts 41 and 42,thereby achieving smooth movement of the hair iron 1.

Furthermore, in the case where the hair iron 1 according to the presentembodiment is primarily intended to warm the hair and/or the scalp fromthe inside with far-infrared rays emitted from the first and secondcontact parts 41 and 42, electric power to be supplied to the heaters 71and 72 can be reduced. In such a case, a device of a lower output can beused as the power supply 8, which is thus can be made smaller.

Second Embodiment

A hair iron according to the present embodiment has the function to heata cylindrical contact part of the hair iron, which comes into contactwith hair during a treatment, to be capable of creating curls or wavesin hair with the heated contact part around which the hair is wound. Thecontact part is made from isotropic high-density graphite, and emitsfar-infrared rays when heated.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the hair iron 201 according to the presentembodiment includes a handle 202, a contact part 241, a clipping part242, a power supply 8, and a cap 209. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, thehair iron 201 further includes a heater 207 for heating a contact part241. To the heater 207, electric power is supplied from the power supply8. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the handle 202 is formed in the shape ofan elongated box, and the power supply 8 is contained inside the handle202. A power cord 206 connecting to an external power source is led outfrom one end (bottom end in FIG. 2A) of the handle 202.

The contact part 241 is cylindrical in shape, and comes into contactwith hair during the treatment. One end (bottom end in FIG. 2A) of thecontact part 241 is fastened to the other end (top end in FIG. 2A) ofthe handle 202 via a thermal insulating member 205. Thus, heat ishindered from transferring from the contact part 241 to the handle 202.The contact part 241 is substantially cylindrical in shape. The contactpart 241 may be in a cylindrical shape having, for example, an outerdiameter of 5 cm and an inner diameter of 3 cm. The contact part 241includes a substrate 241 a, which is made from isotropic high-densitygraphite into a cylindrical shape, and a DLC film 241 b, which is acoating applied to an outer surface of the substrate 241 a. Thesubstrate 241 a and the DLC film 241 b are formed by using methodssimilar to those for forming the substrates 411 and 421 and the DLCfilms 412 and 422 as described in the first embodiment.

The clipping part 242, which is disposed lateral to the contact part241, presses hair against the contact part 241 during the treatment. Theclipping part 242 includes an elongated presser 2421, a support 2422, ahinge 2423, and a lever 2424. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the presser2421 is in a curved shape along a lateral side of the contact part 241.The support 2422, which is fastened to the handle 202 via the hinge2423, supports the presser 2421. The presser 2421 can pivot on the hinge2423. In addition, a spring (not illustrated) is connected to thepresser 2421 to urge the presser 2421 in a direction along which thepresser 2421 presses the lateral side of the contact part 241. When theuser holds the handle 202 and presses the lever 2424 with the user'sthumb or the like, the presser 2421 pivots on the hinge 2423 to be awayfrom the lateral side of the contact part 241. Each of the presser 2421,the support 2422, and the hinge 2423 is made from a metal such astitanium. The lever 2424 is made from a resin material. Note thatmaterials for the presser 2421 and the support 2422 are not limited tometals. For example, the presser 2421 and the support 2422 may be madefrom materials containing graphite, such as isotropic graphite, a carbonfiber composite material (carbon fiber reinforced carbon composite (C/Ccomposite), which is obtained by sintering a mixture of carbon fibersand resin materials), or anisotropic graphite.

The heater 207, which includes a ceramic heater, is attached to an innersurface of the contact part 241. As with the first embodiment, the powersupply 8 is connected to the heater 207 to pass a direct current to theheater 207. The heater 207 and the power supply 8 constitute a heatingsection that heats the contact part 241. The cap 209 is fastened to theother end (top end in FIG. 2A) of the contact part 241 via the thermalinsulating member 205.

In the hair iron 201 according to the present embodiment, the contactpart 241 includes the substrate 241 a, which is made from isotropichigh-density graphite. Hence, the effect of warming the hair and/or thescalp from the inside during the treatment is enhanced, as with thefirst embodiment. Like the first embodiment, the hair iron 201 can bemade lighter compared with, for example, a configuration in which thecontact part 241 is made from ceramic. In addition, the DLC film 241 bon the surface of the contact part 241 is exposed. Hence, a slidingresistance between the contact part 241 and hair can be reduced, thesliding resistance being caused when the user releases the hair that iswound around the contact part 241, thereby achieving smooth release ofthe hair that is around the contact part 241.

(Variations)

Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, but thepresent disclosure is not limited to the configurations of the foregoingembodiments. For example, as seen in FIG. 3A illustrating a hair iron301, a heat transferrer 391 may be located between the first contactpart 41 and the heater 71, while a heat transferrer 392 may be locatedbetween the second contact part 42 and the heater 72. Note that in FIG.3A, symbols identical to those in FIG. 1B are given to componentssimilar to those in the first embodiment. Each of the heat transferrers391 and 392 is made from a metal such as copper or iron.

The first embodiment is described above by using an example in which thefirst contact part 41 and the second contact part 42 include thesubstrate 411 and the substrate 421, respectively, each of which is madefrom isotropic high-density graphite. The first embodiment is notlimited thereto, and the portion made from isotropic high-densitygraphite may only be included in either one of the first contact part 41and the second contact part 42.

The above-described hair iron 1 according to the first embodimentincludes the first contact part 41 and the second contact part 42, whosesurfaces facing each other are substantially flat. However, the shape ofthe surfaces of the first and second contact parts facing each other maynot necessarily be flat. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, each ofthe surfaces of a first contact part 541 and a second contact part 542facing each other may be curved to have a convex shape in a directionalong which the surfaces come closer to each other. Note that in FIG.3B, symbols identical to those in FIG. 1B are given to componentssimilar to those in the first embodiment. The first and second contactparts 541 and 542 include substrates 5411 and 5421, respectively, whichhave curved surfaces coated with the DLC films 412 and 422,respectively.

Concerning the hair iron 1 described in the first embodiment, aplurality of grooves may be formed on at least one of the surface of thefirst contact part 41 and the surface of the second contact part 42, thegrooves extending in a transverse direction of the first and secondcontact parts 41 and 42. For example, as seen in FIG. 4A illustrating ahair iron 601, a plurality of grooves 6413 and 6423 may be formed on asurface of the substrate 6411 in a first contact part 641 and on asurface of the substrate 6421 in a second contact part 642,respectively, the grooves extending in the transverse direction of thefirst and second contact parts 641 and 642. Note that in FIG. 4A,symbols identical to those in FIG. 1B are given to components similar tothose of the hair iron 1 according to the first embodiment. No specificlimitation is imposed on the depth and width of the grooves 6413 and6423. In the hair iron 601, the plurality of grooves 6413 on the firstcontact part 641 and the plurality of grooves 6423 on the second contactpart 642 are positioned to be shifted from each other in thelongitudinal direction of the first and second contact parts 641 and642.

The present configuration allows the user to comb the hair that isengaged inside the grooves 6413 of the first contact part 641 or insidethe grooves 6423 of the second contact part 642, thereby increasing thearea of contact between the hair and the first contact part 641 or thesecond contact part 642. Therefore, hair can be warmed more efficiently.

Concerning the hair iron 201 described in the second embodiment, aplurality of grooves may be formed on the contact part 241, the groovesextending in a circumferential direction of the contact part 241. Forexample, as seen in FIG. 4B illustrating a hair iron 701, a plurality ofgrooves 7243 may be formed on a surface of a contact part 7241, thegrooves extending in the circumferential direction of a surface of acontact part 7241. Note that in FIG. 4B, symbols identical to those inFIG. 2A are given to components similar to those of the hair iron 201according to the second embodiment.

The present configuration allows the user to wind the hair around thecontact part 7241 with the hair engaged inside the grooves 7243 of thecontact part 7241, thereby increasing the area of contact between thehair and the contact part 7241. Therefore, hair can be warmed moreefficiently.

The second embodiment is described above by using an example in whichthe contact part 7241 is cylindrical, but the contact part 7241 may bein another shape. For example, the contact part 7241 may be in a tubularshape having a polygonal cross section.

The embodiments are described above by using an example in which thepower supply 8 receives electric power supplied from an external powersource, but the embodiments are not limited to the example. For example,the hair iron may include a power storage part from which the powersupply 8 receives electric power. In such a case, the hair iron can beused even in a place where no power supply equipment, such as anelectrical outlet, is available, and thus a hair iron convenient to usefor users can be provided.

The embodiments are described by using an example in which the firstcontact part 41, the second contact part 42, and the contact part 241are made from isotropic graphite, but materials for the first contactpart 41, the second contact part 42, and the contact part 241 are notlimited to isotropic graphite. For example, the first contact part 41,the second contact part 42, and the contact part 241 may be made from acarbon fiber composite material (carbon composite) or anisotropicgraphite. While ceramic has a thermal conductivity of 20 to 40 W/(m·K),isotropic graphite, anisotropic graphite, and carbon composite havethermal conductivities of approximately 150 W/(m·K), 170 W/(m·K), and100 W/(m·K), respectively. Thus, compared with the case where the firstcontact part 41, the second contact part 42, or the contact part 241 ismade from ceramic, heat is more easily propagated throughout the firstcontact part 41, the second contact part 42, or the contact part 241.Hence, the portions to be heated in the first contact part 41, thesecond contact part 42, and the contact part 241 can be made smaller,and accordingly the heaters 71, 72, and 207 can be made smaller.Therefore, energy savings are achieved by the reduced energy loss in theheaters 71, 72, and 207. In addition, a material containing graphite,such as isotropic graphite, anisotropic graphite, or carbon composite,emits not only far-infrared rays but also near-infrared rays. As aresult, hair can be warmed from both inside and outside.

The first embodiment is described above by using an example in which thehair iron 1 includes the heaters 71 and 72 to have the function to heatthe first and second contact parts 41 and 42. The second embodiment isdescribed above by using an example in which the hair iron 201 includesthe heater 207 to have the function to heat the contact part 241.However, the hair iron may be configured otherwise. For example, as seenin FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrating a hair iron 801, a cooler 8072 forcooling the second contact part 42 may be included. Note that in FIGS.5A and 5B, symbols identical to those in FIGS. 1A and 1B are given tocomponents similar to those in the first embodiment. The hair iron 801includes a heatsink 8221 for dissipating out of a second arm 8022 theheat discharged from the cooler 8072, and also includes a thermalinsulating member 8222 for preventing heat from transferring from theheatsink 8221 to the second arm 8022. A window 8022 a is formed on partof the second arm 8022 for exposing part of the heatsink 8221. A powersupply 808 is connected to the cooler 8072 via a conductive line 8081.The power supply 808 includes a rectifying and smoothing circuit thatconverts an alternating current supplied from an externalalternating-current source via a power supply line 8083 into a directcurrent, and also includes a step-down circuit that decreases an outputvoltage coming from the rectifying and smoothing circuit. On the secondarm 8022, a sliding switch 8223 is disposed near the hinge 3. The switch8223 is capable of switching between the state where the power supply 8supplies electric power to the heater 71 to heat the first contact part41 and the state where the power supply 808 supplies electric power tothe cooler 8072 to cool the second contact part 42, in response to asliding operation performed by the user.

The cooler 8072 includes a Peltier element 8721 and a heat transferrer8722. The Peltier element 8721 is a flat-shaped thermoelectricconversion element that uses the Peltier effect to create uneven heat atan electrified junction of two different metals or semiconductors. Asthe Peltier element 8721, an element creating a temperature differenceof, for example, approximately 30° C. between the electrified heatabsorber 8721 a and heat rejector 8721 b may be employed. The heattransferrer 8722 is formed into a bar from a metal such as copper orfrom graphite. One face of the heat transferrer 8722 is in surfacecontact with the second contact part 42, while another face of the heattransferrer 8722 is in contact with the heat absorber 8721 a of thePeltier element 8721. As a result, the heat absorber 8721 a of thePeltier element 8721 is thermally coupled to the second contact part 42.The heatsink 8221 is made from a metal such as copper or from graphite,contacts the heat rejector 8721 b of the Peltier element 8721, and ispartially exposed to the outside. Note that the heatsink 8221 may beformed of, for example, a layered body made by stacking graphite sheetsthat are made from expanded graphite.

Alternatively, as seen in FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrating a hair iron 901,the hair iron may include a cooler 9207 for cooling the contact part241. Note that in FIGS. 6A and 6B, symbols identical to those in FIGS.2A and 2B or FIGS. 5A and 5B are given to components similar to those inthe second embodiment or the variation illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B.The hair iron 901 includes a heatsink 9243 for dissipating out of ahandle 9202 the heat discharged from the cooler 9207, and also includesa thermal insulating member 9244 for preventing heat from transferringfrom the heatsink 9243 to the handle 9202. A window 9202 a is formed onpart of the handle 9202 for exposing part of the heatsink 9243. Thepower supply 808 is connected to the cooler 9207 via a conductive line(not illustrated). On the handle 9202, a sliding switch 9221 isdisposed. The switch 9221 is capable of switching between the statewhere the power supply 8 supplies electric power to the heater 207 toheat the contact part 241 and the state where the power supply 808supplies electric power to the cooler 9207 to cool the contact part 241,in response to a sliding operation performed by the user.

The cooler 9207 includes a Peltier element 9271 and a heat transferrer9272. The heat transferrer 9272 is formed into a bar from a metal suchas copper or from graphite. One end of the heat transferrer 9272contacts the contact part 241, while other end contacts a heat absorber9271 a of the Peltier element 9271. As a result, the heat absorber 9271a of the Peltier element 9271 is thermally coupled to the contact part241. The heatsink 9243 is made from a metal such as copper or fromgraphite, contacts a heat rejector 9271 b of the Peltier element 9271,and is partially exposed to the outside.

The present configuration allows the second contact part 42 or thecontact part 241 to be cooled, thereby giving cool feeling to users.

Note that the variation illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B is describedabove by using an example in which the hair iron 801 includes the heater71 for heating the first contact part 41 and the cooler 8072 for coolingthe second contact part 42, but the hair iron may be configuredotherwise. For example, the hair iron may include a cooler for coolingboth the first and second contact parts 41 and 42.

The embodiments are described above by using an example in which thesubstrate 411 in the first contact part 41, the substrate 421 in thesecond contact part 42, or the substrate 241 a in the contact part 241is made from isotropic high-density graphite. However, the embodimentsare not limited to the example, and the substrate 411, 421, or 241 a maybe made from, for example, anisotropic graphite. Alternatively, thesubstrate 411, 421, or 241 a may be made from a carbon fiber compositematerial (C/C composite).

Embodiments and variations according to the present disclosure have beendescribed above (including additional notes; the same applies to thefollowing), but the present disclosure is not limited to theseembodiments and variations. The present disclosure includes anyappropriate combination of the embodiments and variations, as well asincluding any appropriate modification thereto.

The foregoing describes some example embodiments for explanatorypurposes. Although the foregoing discussion has presented specificembodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes maybe made in form and detail without departing from the broader spirit andscope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings areto be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Thisdetailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense,and the scope of the invention is defined only by the included claims,along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims areentitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hair iron comprising an elongated first arm andan elongated second arm, wherein one end of the second arm along alongitudinal direction is pivotally attached to one end of the first armalong a longitudinal direction, and another end of the second arm ismovable in a direction along which the other end of the second arm comescloser to, or away from, another end of the first arm, and wherein atreatment is given by holding hair between the first arm and the secondarm, the hair iron comprising: a first contact part that is disposed ina portion of the first arm, and comes into contact with hair during thetreatment, the portion facing the second arm; a second contact part thatis disposed in a portion of the second arm, and comes into contact withhair during the treatment, the portion facing the first arm; and aheater that heats at least one of the first contact part and the secondcontact part, wherein at least one of the first contact part and thesecond contact part includes a portion made from a material containinggraphite.
 2. The hair iron according to claim 1, wherein the at leastone of the first contact part and the second contact part including aportion made from a material containing graphite comprises a DLC filmthat covers at least part of a surface of the portion.
 3. The hair ironaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a cooler that cools at leastone of the first contact part and the second contact part.
 4. A hairiron comprising: a contact part that is tubular in shape, and comes intocontact with hair during a treatment; a clipping part that is disposedlateral to the contact part, and presses hair against the contact partduring a treatment; and a heater that heats the contact part, whereinthe contact part includes a portion made from a material containinggraphite.
 5. The hair iron according to claim 4, wherein the contactpart comprises a DLC film that covers at least part of a surface of theportion.
 6. The hair iron according to claim 4, further comprising: acooler that cools the contact part.
 7. The hair iron according to claim2, further comprising: a cooler that cools at least one of the firstcontact part and the second contact part.
 8. The hair iron according toclaim 5, further comprising: a cooler that cools the contact part.